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When a life is on the line, don’t go for center mass.
Don’t take the chance they can still get their shot off.
Go for the kill zone. The T-zone.
Aim. Squeeze. Shoot.
I fire one shot, and she goes down.
I don’t double tap because I don’t have to.
She’s dead.
Tears fill my eyes as I hold back the vomit threatening to escape.
Oh my God, I just killed a woman.
Any semblance of calm flees my body as those words begin to sink in.
It wasn’t the first time I’d shot someone, but I learned from my previous mistake.
This time, I shot to kill.
With trembling hands, I place my gun in the pocket of my jeans and dash past Leah’s dead body that’s lying in a growing pool of blood on the floor, then drop to my knees in front of Belles. “What the hell happened? Are you alright?”
She looks at me with wide, scared, tear-filled eyes and clasps my hand for a moment. “I’m fine. Help Bash.”
Sebastian is part of the tight circle of friends Annabelle has tried to bring me into. “You’re not fine, Belles,” Bash growls, pulling his blood-soaked hand away from his side and then looks around the room. “Where the hell is Tommy?”
“I’m up here,” Belle’s twelve-year-old brother, Tommy, yells as he starts down the steps. “I heard something.” His ever-present noise-canceling headphones are hanging around his neck.
With her body bruised and broken, Belle looks at me with a newfound fear in her eyes. “Amelia?” she rasps, and I nod, knowing what she’s asking. Tommy has autism. I’m not sure how much of what’s happening he’s aware of, or watched happen, but he definitely doesn’t need to see the woman I just killed lying dead on his living room floor.
“Got it.” On shaky feet, I stand and move to meet Tommy on the stairs. “Hey, Tommy boy. Let’s go wait outside, okay?” Looking around the chaos of the room, I lock eyes with Sebastian’s brother, who’s moved to block Tommy’s view of the dead woman on the floor.
The resemblance to Sebastian is uncanny.
“What’s wrong with Bash?” Tommy asks innocently from the bottom of the stairs.
Bash groans, “I’m okay now that I know you are too, Tommy boy.”
Everyone loves this kid.
“Yeah.” I take Tommy’s hand. “He got a boo-boo.” Once I’ve got Tommy angled away from where tall, dark, and handsome is blocking Leah’s body, we make our way to the front door.
Tommy and I sit down on the front steps, and I start to go through a mental checklist of what I’m about to be hit with as he presses a button on his iPad and pushes his headphones back up, engrossed quickly in a Christmas movie.
Sometimes I wish I still had the innocence of a child.
But then I remember that I never got to be innocent.
How did this happen? I just served this crazy woman coffee two days ago.
She seemed off but not lethal.
When the door opens back up, Bash and his brother help Annabelle outside and into the white rocking chair next to the front door.
Rising, I study the stranger. “Who are you?” This guy’s giving off dangerous vibes.
